emily.synan

Aoife O’Sullivan, Partner, The Air Law Firm

How long have you been at your current organization?

We set up the firm in November 2015 as a boutique aviation law firm mainly to focus only on aviation and be more flexible in terms of client needs such as fixed fees. Clients we had been working with for many years agreed to support us and we haven’t looked back since.

What are your responsibilities within your organization?

Pretty much everything! I run the business with my partners and we do everything from ordering the stationary to advising clients on aircraft ownership, finance and trading structures. I guess my main role is to keep the business coming in and make sure we are doing everything we can to help clients and give a fast and professional service.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

There is absolutely nothing typical about this role or the work we do. I split my time working from home or at the office in Mayfair. There seems to have been a swing back to face to face meetings so the work involves a lot of travel, literally to anywhere I am directed to go! Many of our clients are based in or pass through London and our Mayfair office is very central so I tend to walk to meetings where possible. Our client base is very varied and on any given day, I may spend the morning with a HNWI advising on their aircraft purchase, lunch with a financier to agree a financing structure, the afternoon drafting documents and answering emails and then dinner with some industry friends or new clients. The ability to respond to emails and calls on the go is a necessity in this line of work as people tend to expect a quick turnaround. We are lucky to be very busy so delegation is a skill I have had to become very good at without affecting our partner led personal service to the clients.

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Product Overview

The Challenger 600 is a twin turbofan large-cabin wide-body business jet best recognized for its very wide cabin (only Falcon 900 is wider; by 1 inch). It was one of the first business jets designed with a supercritical wing. The Challenger 600 has four backup power systems, thrust reversers and APU. It is known to be a spacious, comfortable cabin with low noise and vibration levels.

As of April 2017, 100% of the Challenger 600 aircraft were purchased pre-owned by their current owners. Currently, 24.6% are for sale with a fraction of those (25%) under an exclusive broker agreement. When for sale, the average time on the market is 679 days

Brief History

The Challenger 600 was originally developed in the mid-1970s to be the Learstar 600 in collaboration between Canadair and Bill Lear of Learjet. In 1976 Canadair purchased the Learstar rights and redesigned it to be the Challenger. It was then certified in 1980. A total of 85 Challenger 600 aircraft have been manufactured with 65 in operation today.

Worldwide Appeal

There are 65 Challenger 600 aircraft in operation today. 64 of these are wholly owned with 1 in shared ownership. 1 of the 65 is currently leased. North America has the largest percentage of Challenger 600 aircraft (75%), followed by Asia (14%).

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Product Overview

The Legacy 650 is an upgraded Legacy 600, which was initially based on the platform of regional commercial airliner passenger jet ERJ-145. Embraer improved upon the Legacy 600 by adding extra power and range, and enhanced avionics. An enhanced version of the Legacy 650 (Legacy 650E) was announced at the 2016 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) and is scheduled for introduction in 2017. It will include a synthetic vision system, auto throttle, and a restyled three-zone interior.

As of February 2017, 16% of the Legacy 650 aircraft were purchased pre-owned by their current owners, the other 84% new. Currently, 16.1% are for sale with the majority of those (67%) under an exclusive broker agreement. When for sale, the average time on the market is 294 days.

Brief History

Announced at NBAA-BACE in 2009 and certified in 2011, the Legacy 650 is a longer-range version of the Legacy 600. A total of 96 Legacy 650 aircraft have been manufactured with 93 in operation and three with the manufacturer.

Worldwide Appeal

There are 93 Legacy 650 aircraft in operation today. All of these are wholly owned with 0 in shared or fractional ownership. 3 of the 93 are currently leased. Asia has the largest percentage of Legacy 650 aircraft (46%), followed by Europe (29%) and North America (13%).

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Yvonne Kwok, Accounting/Administrative Officer, Jetcraft Asia
Location: Hong Kong

How long have you been at Jetcraft?

I have been working in the Jetcraft Asia office for one year and two months.

What are your responsibilities within the global Jetcraft team?

I am the Accounting/Administrative Officer for the Jetcraft Asia office. My responsibilities within Jetcraft are to provide accounting and administration support to the Asia team. I also assist with coordinating travel plans for anyone on the asia sales team.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

I spend my typical day preparing accounting reports, payroll, and tax filing to Inland Revenue Department. I work closely with the accounting team in our Headquarters in Raleigh, NC, USA. I also assist with the air-tickets and hotel arrangements for the members of the Asia team since they travel often.

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Aaron Kreissler, Director of MRO Sales, Jet Aviation

How long have you been at your current organization?

I have been at Jet Aviation for 26 years.

What are your responsibilities within your organization?

I am responsible for MRO and Completion Sales, Marketing and Customer Care for Jet Aviation in St Louis, which includes a few different groups of people. We have a regional sales force working in the field that is the primary face of Jet Aviation to our customers. The Internal MRO Sales team is made up of highly technical individuals who produce our proposals and advise customers. These are the folks that answer the questions when a customer or industry partner is evaluating modifications to prospective aircraft, and they are also constantly educating me. The Completion Sales team handles project management for all completions and is the customer’s single point of contact throughout the process. Marketing has both a tactical and strategic role. Finally, our Customer Care team ensures that every customer who comes to St Louis feels like they are a member of the Jet Aviation family.

What do you love most about your job? What is a typical day like?

Every week, even every day, is a relay race. We’ll have a different person starting off and even a different anchor, but without the full team we would not win.

I love that no day is a baseline day. We have friends all over the globe, reaching out to us no matter what the hour, sometimes with projects we could not have dreamed up. I love when we work together to come up with an amazingly effective and unique solution.

Why did working in the Business Aviation industry interest you, and how did you get started?

I grew up in a small town and business jets were for the extremely elite, but I did not know much about them. Everything though was a Lear: a Gulfstream, a Challenger, a Jetstar; I thought they were all Learjets. When I began working with Sabreliner I started to learn about other business aircraft, but it was the career move to Midcoast where my eyes were opened to the breadth and benefits of business aviation.

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Product Overview

The Challenger 850 is derived from the Bombardier CRJ200 commercial airliner. It can accommodate up to 50 standard class seats as a corporate shuttle, but is often configured to accommodate 14-16 passengers with an executive configuration.

As of February 2017, 43% of the Challenger 850 aircraft were purchased pre-owned by their current owners, the other 57% new. Currently, 8.7% are for sale with the majority of those (67%) under an exclusive broker agreement. When for sale, the average time on the market is 744 days.

Brief History

The Challenger 850 was first manufactured in 1996 as the Challenger SE (Special Edition) and rebranded in 2006 as the Challenger 850. Production ended in 2012 following completion of 71 deliveries.

Worldwide Appeal

There are 69 Challenger 850 aircraft in operation today. All of these are wholly owned with none in shared or fractional ownership. 11.9% of the Challenger 850 aircraft are currently leased. Europe and Asia have the largest percentage (39% each), followed by North America (19%).

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Ryan Shannon, Corporate Council, Jetcraft
Location: Minneapolis, MN, USA

How long have you been at Jetcraft?

Close to 5 years (since June, 2012).

What are your responsibilities within the global Jetcraft team?

I handle most of the day-to-day legal matters for Jetcraft, including internal corporate matters, vendor agreements, employment agreements, etc. I also work on aircraft acquisition and sale matters, with a primary focus on Jetcraft’s owned aircraft inventory and trade transactions.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

I spend the majority of my time working on aircraft transactions. This entails drafting letters of intent, aircraft purchase agreements and ancillary documents, and negotiating the terms with buyers and sellers. I begin a typical day by reviewing emails and prioritizing my workload, and then drafting or revising various agreements related to our pending aircraft transactions. In the run-up to a closing, there is a lot of email and telephone correspondence with my colleagues and other parties as we get everything in place. I also spend a fair amount of time coordinating with Peter Antonenko (COO) and Chad Anderson (President) on deal matters and taking direction from them on which ones need focus.

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Product Overview

The Gulfstream G450 is a direct descendent of the Gulfstream G400/GIV-SP series. It comes with upgraded engines (Rolls-Royce Tay 611-8C) with FADEC, and redesigned thrust reverser, nacelle and pylon that, coupled with aerodynamic improvements, increase range and payload.

As of November 2016, 33% of the Gulfstream G450 aircraft were purchased pre-owned by their current owners, the other 67% new. Currently 8.5% are for sale with the majority of those (76%) under an exclusive broker agreement. When for sale, the average time on the market is 244 days.

Brief History

Flight-testing of the Gulfstream G450 started in April 2003 and FAA certification was completed in August 2004. A total of 342 Gulfstream G450 aircraft have been manufactured, all are still in operation today. Production of the G450 will end in early 2018 as Gulfstream transitions production to its new G500.

Worldwide Appeal

There are 342 Gulfstream G450 aircraft in operation today. Most of these are wholly owned (321) with 5 in shared and 16 in fractional ownership. 15% of the 342 are currently leased. North America has the largest percentage of G450 aircraft (58%), followed by Asia (29%) and Europe (9%).

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Karen Watkins, Jetcraft
Location: Minneapolis, MN, USA

How long have you been at Jetcraft?

I joined the Jetcraft family in September 2014 as an Administrative Assistant. My role is office administration in our Minneapolis office. I directly support the President, COO and transaction team.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

Part of what I love about my job is that no two days are ever the same. My daily tasks vary each day depending on the needs of the company. I do everything from assisting with processing aircraft closing documents to answering calls to booking company travel.

What do you love most about your job?

The industry as a whole is so interesting and exciting that I find it difficult to pinpoint what I love most. There are so many things about my job that I truly love! One unexpected thing that this job has given me is the opportunity to see parts of the world I had only dreamt about before, which I am truly grateful for.

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